Summer Activity Ideas

I don’t know about you, but we have 10 weeks of summer holidays… That’s 70 days. Or 840 hours awake. Or exactly 2527 time you will hear “I’m boooooored”. Ugh. To take some of the guesswork out of those 10 weeks, here is are 70 (outdoor) summer activity ideas for each of those days. After all, summers should be spent outside.

Outdoor Summer Activity Ideas

Trips

Carnival

Take a trip to the beach or lake

Farmer’s Market

A big park in a neighboring city that they have never been to

Take a hike or nature walk

Waterslides

Mini golf

Outdoor concert or festival

Berry picking

Go fishing

Water Play

Float down a river

Visit the spray park

Go to an outdoor pool

Water fight!!!!! Try sponges in buckets of water, rather than water balloons. It is easier for little kids, and doesn’t leave shredded balloon all over the yard for birds to eat.

Fill a big plastic bin or bucket with water, give them soap and a bunch of toys or plastic dishes.

Slip and slide. Get a wide and long plastic sheet from the hardware store so you can have races.

Freeze some cheap plastic toys in a bucket of water, then let the kids figure out how to get the toys!

Rain?

Rain art. Use washable markers and draw on paper or paper towels. Take the pictures outside and see how the rain changes them.

Rescue the worms that come out when it rains

Play in the sandbox; how is it different than on a sunny day?

Make a weather station to measure how much rain falls

Use chalk to draw on the pavement and see what happens

Go on a nature walk and see what is different than a sunny nature walk

Active Games

Hide and seek

Kick the can (remember that one?)

Create a dance

Act out a story

Freeze tag. Blob Tag. Tunnel Tag.

Make a treasure hunt for them – or have them make one for you.

Dodgeball or red rover. Ahh, the pain of childhood games…

Frisbee or catch

Jump rope

Make an obstacle course

Quiet Time

Outdoor stories or movies

String games

Jacks

Make a picnic, and eat it either in your own yard or take it to the park

Beanbag games

Look at the stars. Use an app to learn the constellations’ names

Build a campfire and roast marshmallows

Go on a “sound” treasure hunt; how many types of sounds can you hear on a nature walk?

Camp out in the yard

Get Crafty

Paint rocks or sticks

Grab some old sheets and make a fort. Use lawn furniture or a swing-set as a starter.

Melted crayon pictures in the sun

Invent and draw a giant game on large paper, or with chalk in the driveway

Draw road lines on the pavement for bikes, scooters, or Hot Wheels

Get hold of some wood scraps (try your local building center), and set them loose with a hammer and nails

Paper airplanes; make them then see who can go furthest/highest/make the most loops

Build forts with cardboard and packing tape. You can get free boxes from grocery stores, and the forts can last outside until it rains.

Shadow tracing, on paper or with chalk

Nature art – collect natural items, and create art. A picture, a sculpture, it can be anything!

Leaf rubbings

The next time someone says “I’m bored” this summer, whip out this list to find new summer activity ideas. Even better, print out the list and put it on the fridge. How many can you complete this summer holiday? Be sure to share your favourite summer activity idea in the comments.